DATA INSIGHTS REDUCE MEDIA SPEND & FACILITATE SPONSORSHIP

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CHALLENGE

Norfolk’s beloved holiday parade, which had been broadcast live on the ABC affiliate for many years, was a huge expense and included an ongoing annual media buy commitment. With people’s viewing habits changing, viewership of the Grand Illumination Parade broadcast on live television was on the decline. How do we still showcase Downtown and the parade to a broad audience that doesn’t attend the parade in-person, as well as provide opportunities for the type of visibility our sponsors desire?

 

APPROACH

Financial reviews, historical business plans, and interviews with stakeholders indicated that the televised parade special was responsible for most of the cost increases. A deep dive into the organization’s analytics indicated specific audiences and customer journeys that would attract sponsors.

 

SOLUTION

We utilized the Facebook Live platform instead of a live television broadcast, where we could produce the same – if not better – high-quality special without paying for airtime. The holiday micro-site was cut completely and incorporated into the brand’s main destination website with content that spoke to our very best audiences, and statistics for valuable audiences – like potential home buyers – were used to attract sponsors.

 

RESULTS

The parade continued to have record attendance on the street, along with 78,000 people who watched the parade online (a quarter of Norfolk’s population) throughout the holiday season, and holiday website traffic increased 200%. These statistics impressed existing and new sponsors and greatly impacted the success of sponsorship solicitation the following year.